But when extended weekends and school breaks come around, she's more likely to be found in the woods with her father, Ashley.

Allie Hopkins recently won the Professional Kennel Club's Tennessee Youth State Championship for coon hunting. She'll be among a handful of girls competing at the PKC World Coon Hunt, set for Oct. 24 in Salem, Illinois.

Ashley Hopkins got into the sport because of his father and grandfather, and said his daughter has been in the woods with him since she was small.

"When people think of coon hunting, they think killing, but that's not the case," the father explained. "It'd be killing if she went out and shot something every time she went out, but coon hunting is more of a field trial. A judge goes out with a group of kids and their dogs and waits for them to track and tree a coon and they get points for it. They have an hour to tree as many as they can."

For Allie, the most challenging part of the process is calming her nerves.

"Sometimes I'm nervous. There could be dogs that sound the same way mine does, but you have to know your dog's voice and tune into him," she said.

She won the state hunt with her dog, Dirty White Boy, which the family calls Bo for short.

Ashley Hopkins estimates that out of the 100 or so youth who will compete for the $4,000 grand prize scholarship, which comes with $2,000 "in your pocket," Allie will be one of four or five.

"I'm used to it," said Allie, the only girl to compete at the state competition.

When she's not hunting, she plays guard for the Oakland Middle girl's basketball team and is a leader in the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes club. Allie also is a member of the Tennessee Flight AAU team.

Asked what her favorite part of coon hunting was, she was slow to respond.

"Tell the truth. You like aggravating the boys when you win," her father said.

"Yeah, a little bit," Allie responded.

The Hopkins lives in Lascassas and do some of Bo's conditioning on the family's 400-acre farm. Other times, they'll visit friends Ashley has made during his years as a hunter and dog breeder.

But Allie's outdoor experience isn't limited to coon hunting. Just last month, she killed an 11-point buck at family friend Dustin Troutman's place in Indiana.

"Dustin was really happy for her, because last year she went and didn't get anything," said mother Jennifer Hopkins, who works as a secretary at Oakland High School. "Last year she let a bunch of little ones go waiting for a big one, but it never came."

Although excited about the upcoming World Hunt, Allie doesn't plan to ride the wave of the state championship.

"You're not going to win every time. It just depends on what kind of day everybody's having," she said.

A third-grader at Lascassas Elementary, Anslie Hopkins said she leaves the outdoor life to her sister.

"I'm a mama's girl," she said.

Jennifer Hopkins doesn't mind that hunting is what her oldest daughter loves.

"I just want her to be a kid as long as she can and enjoy the things she's doing now. These are the times she'll remember for the rest of her life," the mother said.

Contact Mealand Ragland-Hudgins at 615-278-5189 or mragland@dnj.com. Follow her on Twitter@dnj_mrhudgins.